Your comment ...this is meant to be an early detection protocol, and hence we need maximum sensitivity in the method, My experience..We tested every single hive to determine when varroa first arrived in our own hives. It can be very random in its spread, throughout the apiary. We had a husband wife tussle as to whether it would be worth the time and effort. Before testing we drew a map of the hives in the apiary and allocated the hives numbers then circled some numbers to pick out 'random ones'.We then sampled the entire apiary and found that we found varroa in the 'non random' hives. Not the 'random numbers'. Its a very telling exercise! Odds are you can miss this early detection by only selecting a few.We had approx 800 hives and used alcohol wash. Good luck!RegardsFiona O'Brien New Zealand Sent from Samsung tablet.
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